I was a big fan of the Pathfinder Beginner Box, so I've been looking forward to this one. Paizo has posted an official "unboxing" of their upcoming box, which includes books, dice, 80 pawns, character sheets, maps, and player aid cards.

It's available from April 24th.

Heroes' Handbook
Get started with everything you need to know to create and play your new character, from classes and themes to alien ancestry, general rules, plus a short solo adventure.

Game Master’s Guide
A wondrous galaxy is at your fingertips, full of new worlds and alien adversaries. Learn how to run encounters in the Steel Talon's Lair adventure, and gain insight into how to create your new world and engage your players in the story.

Accessories
Also included in the box are: a set of seven polyhedral dice, 80 pawns depicting diverse heroes and aliens, 24 pawn bases, six pregenerated and six blank character sheets, six player aid cards for quick reference, and a double-sided Flip-Mat.

True. The Pathfinder BB was (is) terrific, and worth every penny. If, like me, you don't use pawns and battle maps (prefer "theater of the mind") and want only the rule set, you can get the PDF for $10 (which contains everything in the box, just digitally).

But, how does the adventure compare to Lost Mine for 5e? WotC kinda set the standard there. I already have the core rulebook, pact worlds, armory, etc... but would primarily be interested in the starter adventure.

I don't know, Lost Mines is a very 5ed style beginner box. The Pathfinder box was good for an evening of two of entertainment, but with excellent presentation for a visual experience.

Lost Mines, on the other hand, was a mini-campaign. It took many sessions and got you to level 5. It was very much geared towards a very Theater of the Mind view of the system.

The PF box set is like one chapter out of the adventure that is Lost Mines. But, Lost Mines is only $20 -- and that's been a key selling point when I convince people to pick it up.

The Pathfinder beginner box is still very affordable, $35. It's a great value. And the pawns and dice are reusable, even though I don't think I'll play the adventure anytime soon.

So... I'll probably pick up the Starfinder boxed set. These things tend to give you a good deal, and it's always a good way to see how they want to present the game. They put their best foot forward and it's always nice to get the "how this game should work" spelled out clearly.

I wrote my comment before I realized how slight the adventure material was in the StarFinder box.

Ideally, I would like a beginner box to have, in addition to the basic rules, a decent adventure along with cardboard standee minis and battlemaps for all major encounters. That would get too pricey with something like Phandelvers, but in the Stranger Things 5e starter set, you could do this for the Hunt for the Thessalhydra and still keep the price reasonable. The Thessalhydra adventure doesn't give you much more than a session or to of play. It would be nice if they would instead including something like In Volo's Wake. 4-6 mini adventures, each with iconic lower-level foes an a variety of locales that can take advantage for fairly generic battlemats. Then give some random tables and tips for making your own.

That would give the basic set a lot more replayability.

Originally Posted by hoshisabi

I don't know, Lost Mines is a very 5ed style beginner box. The Pathfinder box was good for an evening of two of entertainment, but with excellent presentation for a visual experience.

Lost Mines, on the other hand, was a mini-campaign. It took many sessions and got you to level 5. It was very much geared towards a very Theater of the Mind view of the system.

The PF box set is like one chapter out of the adventure that is Lost Mines. But, Lost Mines is only $20 -- and that's been a key selling point when I convince people to pick it up.

The Pathfinder beginner box is still very affordable, $35. It's a great value. And the pawns and dice are reusable, even though I don't think I'll play the adventure anytime soon.

So... I'll probably pick up the Starfinder boxed set. These things tend to give you a good deal, and it's always a good way to see how they want to present the game. They put their best foot forward and it's always nice to get the "how this game should work" spelled out clearly.

The biggest advantage the Pathfinder Beginner Box has over the 5e D&D Starter Box is that it can be used as a complete game.

It has character creation rules so that you can create your own characters from scratch. The D&D Starter Box does not provide this option.

Any 1st level module should thus be playable by anyone who has the Pathfinder Beginner Box and they can go up to level 5 (level 6 with the later printings that included a transition pamphlet) with just the rules in the box.

It's probably a better bargain for beginning roleplayers than most of the "beginner" or starter boxes out there.

If Starfinder has a similar premise and you can go up to level 5 it is probably going to be one of the better sets out there.

Of course, price wise it can't beat the FREE Basic rules available for 5e, but as far as a physical product goes, the PF BB is probably the best one out there currently.

The biggest advantage the Pathfinder Beginner Box has over the 5e D&D Starter Box is that it can be used as a complete game.

It has character creation rules so that you can create your own characters from scratch. The D&D Starter Box does not provide this option.

Any 1st level module should thus be playable by anyone who has the Pathfinder Beginner Box and they can go up to level 5 (level 6 with the later printings that included a transition pamphlet) with just the rules in the box.

It's probably a better bargain for beginning roleplayers than most of the "beginner" or starter boxes out there.

If Starfinder has a similar premise and you can go up to level 5 it is probably going to be one of the better sets out there.

Of course, price wise it can't beat the FREE Basic rules available for 5e, but as far as a physical product goes, the PF BB is probably the best one out there currently.

Anyone know how the SF BB compares to the PF BB?

Normally I would agree with this... I (and my group) have never cared for pre-gens. However, WotC went above and beyond on the adventure. The adventure alone provided enough value to make the 5e BB more than worth it. Not to mention, I already had the Player's Handbook, so we didn't use the pre-gens. I'll be in the same boat for SF. I already have the Handbook. However, basic starter rules are still a plus to help us get started with the game.

I bought this yesterday because our online group wants to try something space related. I did a quick perusal through it. Seems well put together. I noticed that the character sheets sections break out and point you to a page number in the Heros' guide book so you know where to look for something. this is incredibly helpful to a newbie such as myself.

The first 12 pages of the GM guide is a short adventure. The rest explains all the backend stuff and the how to create settings/monsters/etc. then it does go through the pact worlds and gives a known facts on them. Then in the back it lists some of the monsters you can use.

The first 6 pages of the Heros' Handbook is a solo adventure. it does explain how combat works and which dice to use. the rest of the book is how to create your character, stages of actions, ships, conditions, how to use things, etc.

the flip maps are decent. the pop out cards seem like a good heavy stock board to use as mini's. the Pregen character folio's are big, like 4 pages big and also have instructions and how to use, so it is more than the pregen's you got with WOTC 5e pregen's.

For a beginner this looks great, but i think if you like it and plan to expand out, the character sheets will be worthless as they refer back to the heros' handbook. if you get the corebook, this may not be as helpful.

Reviews

Wizards of the Coast is promoting Ghosts of Saltmarsh as an adventure book with a setting and rule supplements so since I already did a spoiler-free review of the book overall, let's take a closer look at the adventures it contains. While I avoid significant spoilers, be aware that broad information about each adventure is mentioned.

The Shadowrun Sixth World Beginner Box due for release at Origins this June will be our first look at the new edition of the now 30-year-old Shadowrun game system. This new edition promises to be a more streamlined experience for new players while still satisfying veterans, but does it live up to that promise?

Ghosts of Saltmarsh will make Greyhawk fans happy without losing newer D&D 5th Edition players. Billed as a supplement for nautical adventures, it's a mix of new rules for ships and sea travel, adventures and supplemental material for any coastal campaign.

Sequels can be a tricky thing to handle, especially when they promise a darker, edgier tone. Despite its much gloomier tone, however, Things from the Flood manages to avoid difficult-second-album syndrome with a game that neatly blends weird sci-fi mysteries and teenage drama, though sometimes it’s hard to tell which aspect is the most dangerous and unsettling.

Gangs kill and terrorize Victory City overwhelming law and order. Super villains run amok. Become a vigilante and strike back using violence to fight violence in the dark setting nicknamed Vigilante City.